


The Patron Saint of Hopeless Cases

by thatviciousvixen



Series: Hopeless Wanderers [1]
Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: Allosexual Character, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asexual Character, Chronic Illness, Chronic Pain, F/M, Hand Jobs, Illnesses, Mentions of PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-17
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-31 01:45:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3959749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatviciousvixen/pseuds/thatviciousvixen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He can’t have her doing too much for him. The more she takes on the closer she comes to realizing just how much he isn’t worth it. He’s got to learn how to figure these things out for himself, how to be healthy on his own - or at least how to fake it well enough to convince Capable and her overprotective sisters that he’s doing just fine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Patron Saint of Hopeless Cases

**Author's Note:**

> So this work came from a merging of three different things. One, I saw Mad Max last night and SWEET JESUS FUCK. Two, I immediately got lost in the idea of this AU where the girls are all sisters-by-bond who have escaped this shared traumatic past to start a new life elsewhere, and Nux is Capable's chronically ill boyfriend. Three, I have this miserable fucking chest cold and when you have lupus/have had a pulmonary embolism those are a bitch to get over (I'm fine just whiny). So I wanted to explore what their relationship would look like in this super complicated AU I dreamed up.
> 
> Quite a few people on Tumblr expressed how they dug the idea of an ace approach to the pairing, and I love the idea of writing an ace/allo couple and how two mature adults would approach that. So Merry Christmas kids I hope this isn't terrible.
> 
> Come find me on [tumblr here](http://that-vicious-vixen.tumblr.com) so we can freak out about Nux and other terminally ill heroes, Furiosa and how badass she is, and Max and how cool it is to have a non-neurotypical hero in a movie. Also my crush on Splendid.

His black nailpolish is chipped and cracked as it skitters across the keyboard, long fingers plucking out the letters to try and express what he’s feeling in a concise but precise way. He’s got to be detailed, or Google isn’t going to tell him what he needs to know. Too many hits from people with a vague idea of what it’s like to be sick, but no one who really understands what it’s like to have layer upon layer of sickness to contend with. No one who gets how this sickness affects that one, how these medicines can fuck with those, how he can’t always tell if the ache in his chest is a cold or the lupus or his asthma or another blood clot coming back to finish the job the first one started last year. 

He settles on _chest cold after blood clot, lupus, recovery time._ At the risk of sounding like a total baby he needs to know how long he’s looking at this cough, this wet death rattle in his chest that hurts like hell and keeps Capable up no matter how many times she pretends she was just getting up to piss anyway. The cough suppressants aren’t working and he’s more and more attracted to the idea of ripping his lungs out with his bare hands. He’d survive that, right?

“Nux?”

He turns, eyes working to adjust to the darkness of the living room after so long staring at his computer screen. Capable is standing in the burning blue darkness, stripped to a pair of his boxers and nothing else. The way her hair cascades over her shoulders to cover her breasts makes her look like a Boticelli, and he is suddenly sharply aware of just how unworthy of her he is. 

“Not quite morning yet, love,” he says, plastering a bright smile on his face. She gives him so much, the least he can do is give her the updated, more energetic version of himself. The one that doesn’t seem so sick. “What are you doing up?”

“Could ask you the same thing,” she says pointedly, wandering over to sit next to him. She worms her legs across his lap, forcing him to lean away from the laptop resting on the coffee table. “What are you up to?”

“Just couldn’t sleep, is all,” he says smoothly, stroking his palm over the smooth warmth of her calf. She must have changed the sheets today. The only time she ever shaves is when the sheets are cool and fresh and she wants to rub her bare legs along them. “I was watching Netflix for a bit, now I’m just wandering the internet wastelands.”

“You’re full of shit,” she says lovingly, stroking his hair. It’s only just begun to fall from the pompadour she slicked it into for the Halloween party. He’d been too tired, too sore to wear anything that took any effort; she’d done some skull makeup on him, he’d thrown on his black leather jacket, and they’d told everyone he was the ghost of James Deen. “You get all still and quiet when you’re thinking too hard, normally I can’t shut you up. Something’s bothering you.”

Nux hums, winding his arm around her waist and pulling her close. This used to be hard for him, this casual, comfortable touching. When he learned of her lack of an interest in sex he’d worried that every touch would be unwelcome, that any intimacy was completely out the door. Relief came in learning that this was still okay, the trust of being stripped bare for one another. He didn’t need sex, he just needed someone he could be naked with. So he pulls her close, kisses her shoulder, and steals a bit of her warmth for his chilled skin.

“My chest hurts,” he says slowly, bracing himself for her reaction.

It comes just as he’d anticipated. She sits up, brow furrowing as she presses her palm over his heart. Like it’s the root of his problems, or at least the sole perpetrator. “Like it did before? Last year?”

“No, no, not like last year,” he says quickly, resting his hand over hers. “I can breathe just fine, and it doesn’t feel like an emergency. It just aches, more than it normally does when I have a chest cold. So I was trying to figure out how much longer until I get over this stupid cough.”

Capable relaxes a miniscule amount, stroking her thumb over his skin. Her palm slides up a bit so she can lightly touch the two fresh scars from where they’d recently removed those lumps near his clavicle that had turned out to be benign. “We should get you back in to the doctor.”

“I went three times last month,” he says wearily, eyes glazing over at the thought.

“I know, Nux, but it’s better to be safe. And we’re going to start eating better. I’m going to start cooking, really cooking for us at night. Good food, not the shit we normally eat.”

“You really don’t have to do that,” he whispers, almost fearfully. He can’t have her doing too much for him. The more she takes on the closer she comes to realizing just how much he isn’t worth it. He’s got to learn how to figure these things out for himself, how to be healthy on his own - or at least how to fake it well enough to convince Capable and her overprotective sisters that he’s doing just fine. “You’re not my nurse, you’re my girlfriend.”

She scoffs, sitting up to get a better look at his face. “And what do you think girlfriends _do_?” she asks incredulously. “You take care of me when the nightmares get too bad, and you look out for my family like it’s your own. You know when the girls need oil changes without them saying and have them done before they notice. And I know Max isn’t always the easiest to deal with, but you do, because he’s important to us.”

“Max isn’t hard to deal with. Max is a good guy,” Nux says with a frown. 

“Max has the most intense PTSD I’ve ever seen,” Capable points out. “We can admit that without demonizing him for it, Nux. It doesn’t make him a bad person or crazy or anything, but it also doesn’t do him any good to pretend it isn’t there. Sometimes it’s hard to deal with, and you handle it better than any of us.”

“I mean...that’s nothing special,” he frowns, uncomfortable with the attention. “You’re my family, it’s what you do for family.”

“And you’re mine,” she says firmly, eyes sparkling with vivid emotion as she cups his face in her hands. “It’s okay to be sick, Nux. It’s okay to be frustrated by it. And it’s okay to let the person who loves you take care of you. So let me, please? You’re not an infirm, it’s not like it takes me any extra effort to cook a healthier dinner or get you a glass of water when you’re coughing bad. It makes me feel good to know I’m helping.”

They’re silent for a moment, his pale hand absently rubbing her golden-tan skin. After a moment he says, “Do you realize you and your sisters all dressed as something nature related at the party tonight? You were Poison Ivy, Splendid was Mother Earth, Cheedo was a nymph, Dag was a faun...well, I don’t know what the fuck Toast was but it was green so I figure she matched as well.”

Capable smiles, stroking his cheek. “When you come from where we come from? You appreciate the earth. It’s life, you know?”

Nux doesn’t know where they come from. Capable has never wanted to talk about it, and he would never force her to tell.

“Come on, bed,” she says, standing and tugging his hand until he follows. They stop into the bathroom so she can pee and he can wipe his costume makeup off, and soon after they’re tangled in bed and settling under the weight of the darkness. When he can’t stop tossing and turning and coughing she kisses his shoulder and gives him the world’s most relaxed and affectionate handjob (another lesson he had to learn; she has needs and he has needs and neither of their needs are disrespectful to the other’s and they can help each other out without tipping that balance). When he finally feels the tension release from his muscles and his heart slow down he closes his eyes, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head.

“I don’t know what your name used to be,” he whispers, “but you’re definitely Capable.”

“And I don’t know what the fuck a Nux is, but I like it too,” she says, pressing her smile into his chest.

They drift off, and for a while he is released from the prison of the pain of his body.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Patron Saint of Hopeless Cases [Podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5113127) by [lavendersiren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavendersiren/pseuds/lavendersiren)




End file.
